Alameda Theater almost set for stagehouse construction

Plans for the first phase of the Alameda Theater’s renovation — the construction of a stagehouse — go before the Historic and Design Review Commission today; click here to review the plans. Crafted by local architect Killis Almond, the plans call for the demolition of the theater’s rear wall for the stagehouse and its support rooms.

Recently-formed nonprofit, simply called Alameda Theater, is overseeing the renovation of the theater and the neighboring Casa de Mexico Building, 310-318 W. Houston St. The organization has more than $8 million in city and county money to execute the initial phases, but still needs to raise another $10-$12 million for the overall project, according to the organization.

If the HDRC approves the design, and the permitting process happens smoothly, construction could begin in early June.

The funding for the stagehouse is coming from Bexar County venue tax funds, $6 million originally allocated to Centro Alameda, the organization that once oversaw the theater. The county has transferred those funds to Alameda Theater specifically for the stagehouse.

In October, the city transferred another $2.1 million in parks and recreation bond money to Alameda Theater for improvements to Casa de Mexico Building, including lobby and restroom upgrades, and the refurbishing of floors 2-4 for use by the Henry Ford Academy: Alameda School Art + Design. That sublease has been signed, according to vice chairman Bob Crittenden, and the floors are scheduled for completion in December. The school currently operates in former Bowie Elementary School at 439 Arbor Place.

Crittenden, along with board chairman Ernest Bromley, served as board members on Centro Alameda. But, Crittenden said, their passion was for the theater. And so they branched off and formed a nonprofit with just that focus.

“We are just the theater,” Crittenden said. “We have no debt. We are beginning this work with county venue funds. … So we basically volunteered to head off in this direction, and we did talk with the city and the county about it.”

The lease agreement between the city and the nonprofit is for five years, with renewable options up to 20 years.

Crittenden said the Alameda Theater board is all but a half-dozen people right now, and that they are still adding members. When the board is finally assembled, they want a combination of local and national representation, mostly as a fundraising strategy.

“There’s obviously going to be some local representation,” Crittenden said. “We want people in the Latino community. We want people who have theater and entertainment experience. We really are very cognizant of the fact that this theater can have a prominent place in the Latino community here and nationally.”

But the group is not completely autonomous. Because it is operating city-owned property, and working mostly with county money, all plans must be approved by those entities.

The organization is scheduled to hire a construction contractor next month. And the stagehouse portion is expected to be completed in October 2013. Beyond the stagehouse, Crittenden could not give a timetable on the rest of the building because the funds have yet to be raised. Overall, he gave an optimistic completion time of late 2014. “That’s what we’re pressing for,” Crittenden said.

Crittenden said they wanted to start with the stagehouse because they had the funding to do it, and they thought it would be the hardest aspect of the renovation to raise money for.

Crittenden envisions the theater’s capacity to be in the range of 1,600 seats. And then there’s the matter of tenants. The San Antonio Symphony is poised to be the anchor tenant of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts when it’s completed. That will leave the Majestic Theater without an anchor. And sbout a month ago, the Aztec Theatre closed because it wasn’t making any money off its Branson-style country show.

So who will occupy the Alameda Theater? What kind of programming will it host?

“We’re working on it right now,” Crittenden said. “Believe me, we’ve done a heck of a lot since December.”